Lyric discussion by Brassfinch 

Cover art for Water's Edge lyrics by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

With this being a Cave song I imagine the song to be much more morose and grim. It might just be a simple scenario of a group of girls, naive and carefree, thinking they're alone, set upon by a group of horny teenagers, raped, perhaps even killed. The bodies coming apart like toys is mentioned twice, first to refer to clothing coming off, then later in a more sinister, perhaps a more way. The "reach for the speech to be heard" is quite evidently a cry for help. The eternal wild hunt, the hunt of men for women, driven mad by lust, tragically and brutally on display.